I’m excited about a new turn in my practice, toward clients who are in the second half of life. The second half should absolutely be the best half, and I’m helping clients actualize this in their lives.
Most people find that by their 50s a lot of struggle has settled, and life is on a cruising glide-path. In their 60s and 70s, their losses begin to show up: end of career, children grown and gone, friends and relatives lost, health changes, and a limited horizon ahead. It’s easy to get lost in the losses. And when this happens, what is actually lost is today. Today, with its infinite possibilities, is real, too: it’s just as real as the losses and the limitations.
What I’m up to at The Art of Thought and my Aging with Joy project is helping folks balance both realities. Losses and limitations are real; they’re a part of aging. However, there are still more opportunities than we can possible take advantage of. We can learn new things — a language, music, history, sciences, gardening and art, and just about anything you can imagine. And we can make new acquaintances. All of which can help end the sense of isolation and loneliness. To move out of depression and into opportunity — EVEN for one day. Today. Along with my losses, I have today, I have life, with its amazing beauty and complexity. And that’s all I’ve ever had. I’m alive and connected to all that is. And that feels better, it feels good.
And it’s still true that nothing matters so much as that I feel good. Today, now, it can’t wait!